Family Reunion
by Alerting Alliteration
Summary: Hinata is bored to death at a family dinner, everyone is talking very loudly and her father is getting embarrassingly drunk, only one person seems to share her boredom. What happens when Neji reaches out? NejiHina. I don't care if you think it's gross.
1. Chapter 1: Life as I know it

**FINALLY! **For the first time in sixth months, I am posting a story. Please forgive me for not being more vigilant in my writing, damn, so many things have happened since the last time I wrote to all of you. I know that this isn't a new chapter of In your skin, but I'm taking things one step at a time. This is a new story that I hope I'll be working on. Hinata is the main character (a bit of a change, since I usually use Sakura). I'll remind everyone that this is a NejiHina (HinaNeji) fanfic, and as such incest is involved. I encourage everyone to read this and give it a chance, sometimes you'll find that you are open to more things than you thought. This is not my best work, but I tried very hard this time, and I even got a beta for the first time ever!! So, hopefully, the mistakes will be cut down to a minimum. Or else someone is going to die . . Thank you Megamanxx for both your help and encouragement!! I love you, always. I would also like to thank everyone who has read my stories in the past and welcome new readers! Please review, it really helps me out (there's not way I can get better if you don't tell me what I'm doing wrong!!) If no one reviews I will slink back quietly to my shell and cry myself to sleep every night :'[ (yeah... . , lets go with that). I won't delay you any longer (although I bet most of you just skipped this -.-). **GO FORWARD AND READ! **

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Chapter 1: Life as I know it 

People wonder why I don't say much. They might think I'm strange or morbidly shy. It's easy to stick a label on me and stick me in a box. The truth is, if you had my life, you'd be just as "shy" as me. Sitting at a table every night with all your relatives is not the best for any quiet girl's self esteem. I don't even know if I'm quiet naturally, anymore; it may just be a side effect to constantly being ignored.

The silence is unbearable. Sure, people are _talking_. I hear them, but they aren't _saying_ anything! Meaningless babble, it's enough to drive anyone insane. So you get the picture, maybe I should describe the set up to you. At the head of the table, of course, is my father, Hiashi. I sit to his right and Hanabi sits across from me, to his left. This wouldn't be so bad, but I'm seated next to, who of all people? Neji. I don't know if the elders think that it's some kind of mercy to sit next to someone my age, or if they just want to try to protect their heiress, but it doesn't work, either way. I'm not doubting that he would protect me, Neji is an honorable and amazing person…but…he hates me. Have you ever looked someone in the eye and saw nothing but pure, undefiled hatred? I do, every day of my life. I don't know why, but I force myself to look up at him every day. Is it to punish my self? It certainly feels like a punishment. Every time I feel his anger, a little bit of me dies inside.

I stared down at my bowl, and pushed around the stuff in it with my chopsticks. "Family time" lasted for two hours. _It's almost halfway over! _but the thought didn't console me much. I half listened to a lame attempt to bring me into the conversation by my great aunt. "Little Hina has been doing great in her training, haven't you, sweetkums?" I watched her mouth move up and down with a little piece of rice that trembled as she talked. "You know, when I saw that girl fighting, she looked so dainty! Like a little flower! That stupid Sakura girl got the flower name! Well, my Hinata is far more ladylike than that gluttonous, obnoxious, prig! Mooning after that _Uchiha_! Hina-chan could show that little bitch up any day, couldn't you, baby cakes?" It was horrible to watch as she talked trash about a girl who had never been anything but nice to me. _Oh god! She's addressing me! There's not way I could agree with her. Sakura is a really sweet girl…_

I took a deep breath and looked into her eyes. "Th-that's not true." I said feebly, the conversation drew to a halt and I blushed at the attention, "Sakura is a nice girl, and very lady like. She is a strong shinobi." There was an expanse of silence, and for one terrifyingly exhilarating moment, I thought that I was going to cause a ripple in the discussion, make an argument, some kind of reaction. Aunt Mildred dashed my hopes instantly.

"Hogwash! You're such a sweet girl, Hinata! Never can say a bad word about anyone!" With that, everyone chuckled at my presumed geniality, and continued on with their conversation like I had never said a thing. Only one pair of eyes were still fixed on me. Neji, Neji was staring at me with fascination. Embarrassed, I turned away to look at my father instead.

Big mistake. What could be more embarrassing than a big, burly clan leader taking his sake glass and swinging it back and forth so it spilled on his lap? Oh, I know, when that very same clan leader was your father AND singing songs from musicals.

"One daaay oooverrr the raiinboww! Way up highhhh!" he screeched in an out of tune voice. He only drank sake on Friday nights, and for a reason. Hiashi did not down sake very well. Yep, it went straight to his head.

I thought I was going to die of humiliation, when one of the elders held up his sake glass and said, "come on everyone! Have a drink, there's more than enough!" He then began to stagger drunkenly around, filling everyone's glasses with sake, even the minors, well most of the minors. He stopped when he came to me.

"Oh! Sorry little Hinata, but no alcohol for the precious heiress!" He wagged his finger at me and proceeded to fill up Hanabi's glass. I blushed with shame; my sister was my superior in every way, she even was treated more maturely than me. _And fuck, why is Neji still watching me?!_ I blushed a deeper shade of red at my own inappropriate use of language. I fiddled with my napkin in my hands nervously to try to hide the awkwardness of being the only person not able to toast. I was so preoccupied with my own thoughts that I didn't notice Neji's movements until I felt his breath against my ear.

"I didn't know you liked Sakura so much." He leaned back and swished into his chair in one motion…except his chair was only about half an inch away from mine.

"I-I don't, she just didn't deserve that to be said about her." _Here it comes, he'll look away and pretend like I don't exist._ But he didn't; he kept gazing steadfastly within my eyes.

"That's admirable of you." My heart beat harder in my chest. I wanted to bury my face in my hands so he couldn't see my blush, but I was paralyzed.

The smirk on Neji's face slowly grew into an expression of concern. "Hinata-Sama, are you alright?" I felt myself growing gradually fainter as my body heated up.

"I'm…fine…Nej-Neji…n-ni-san…." Well Neji certainly didn't listen to me when I said that.

Neji pulled me up by my arm and half carried me to the end of the table, When caught by Hiashi's questioning gaze, he addressed the whole family, "I'm taking Hinata-sama, to her room, the sake has gotten to her head." All of the drunken people nodded their heads and mumbled about how Neji was such a good protecter, conveniently forgetting that I was the only one who was NOT served sake.

With that, Neji picked me up for real and started to carry me upstairs, to my room, to be alone with him for the first time…ever.

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Sooo...what did you think? Hate it? Love it? Make you want to shove a pencil up your ass?? TELL ME! (please) o: Flames are more than welcome, in fact, I am itching for one since I am a flame virgin (in receiving). This is my first time doing an unpopular pairing so I'm hoping it will get me a few flamers! Both praise and critiques would be great. And I promise I'll get back to every one of you. (If I don't PM me a flame that will send my ass flying to heaven. Again, thank you for sticking with me. 

Love always,

Alerting Alliteration


	2. Chapter 2: Lipgloss and Destiny

Hey people. Here's my second chapter (after such a long wait). I apologize for the delay. I would like to thank all my devoted readers and reviewers. I hope I replied to everyone x.x I have a hard time keeping it straight. I never thought that this story would get so much praise and support! It's amazing. This chapter is kinda fun, not my best...but I try. I'd also like to thank Megamanxx for being my beta! Megamanxx apologizes for any errors, as they are his fault (no they are NOT mine, he just puts them in there sometimes for fun . ). Well, I bet you want to see what happens next!!! (probably not, since it's been such a long time that you are like "...oh" when you get it in your alerts, "I'm bored...I guess I should read it...") Ooh, but I might be getting new peoples! HI! I'm sorry, right now I'm hyper, I'm just really excited to hear from all of you. Please review, it would mean a lot to me. Enjoy :

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Being carried up a flight of stairs wouldn't seem like it would be exciting, but it is. Being in such close proximity with Neji induced a sort of vertigo, which was only amplified by the fact that the floor below was spinning in my head. Gosh, all you'd have to do is add in a bit of good old-fashioned cheesy dialogue to the mix and you'd have the makings of a romance novel. Not that I'm saying that Neji's intentions were romantic. Considering his contempt for me I find that hardly likely. And yet…why should he care if I fainted when he hated me so much? Is it possible that I could be mistaken about his feelings towards me…?

The rhythm of Neji's steps reverberated in me like a sort of heartbeat. I could feel his arms securely around me, firm but gentle. As my surroundings swirled in my mind, I looked up at Neji's face. Suddenly his eyes shifted to meet mine. He stopped in his tracks; I held my breath as his arms tightened around me. 'Can he feel my muscles tensing…hear my heart beating like a freight train?? He's so close…I can smell him…why has he stopped?' All my thoughts whirled around my head until I finally realized that Neji was looking at me questioningly. He was asking permission to enter my room.

I nodded my head and he pushed the door open. Miraculously he had absolutely no problem holding me with one arm. (Must be all that training he does.) He then entered my room and laid me gently on my bed. He sat down on the edge of my mattress and gently felt my head for fever before he began speaking.

"You'll be alright here, Hinata-sama? I…know that the environment downstairs is not the most pleasant…" He hesitated a moment and I took the chance to respond.

"I'll be alright, Neji-nii-san…thank you for your concern…" I managed a slight smile as I sat up on my bed so I could face him directly. He seemed to take my action for a dismissal and stood up.

"Goodnight, Hinata-sama." He said briskly as he bowed, once again taking on his formal demeanor. As he started for the door I reached out for him gently.

"Neji..."

He froze in place.

"Are you going back down to dinner?"

He turned around and a slightly quizzical expression spread across his face. "Yes, there really is nothing else for me to do…"

A blush was starting to consume my features even before I spoke the humiliating words. Normally, I would've faltered and halted, but something about the way he had posed his answer gave me courage.

"Would…um…. you like to stay here with me…?" I pushed the words out and held my breath, waiting for a reply.

Neji's mouth fell open in shock. 'Uh-oh, maybe this wasn't such a good idea…I should just take it back before I embarrass myself further…' But as I looked down and touched my fingers together shyly, a stronger voice chimed in my head, 'You've gone this far! Don't chicken out now!' Before I lost my nerve I squinted my eyes as if anticipating pain, and rushed the words together.

"I-was-wondering-if-you-wanted-to-play-cards-with-me!"

No response.

I opened one eye to peak at Neji. He looked even more shocked. Both of my eyes opened hopefully as I gazed across the room at him. He was rooted to the ground, every muscle tensed and motionless.

"Hinata-sama…" he began

I sighed and slumped back in defeat. What had made me think he could possibly want to accept such a childish request?

"It's alright…you can go back down. I just thought…that maybe…we... maybe you were bored too. I thought that you might want to hideout up here with me…" I smiled sadly. " I understand. Goodnight Neji-nii-san" With my back to him I collapsed onto my bed and closed my eyes. 'Don't cry, Hinata, don't cry. You are a shinobi!' I waited for the click of the door that would signify Neji's departure, but it never came. Instead I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Hinata-sama?" I voice whispered in my ear. The tenderness in his tone made me shiver. I whipped around to face him.

"Yes…?"

"I would love to play cards with you." It was my turn to be shocked.

"Um…really?" I asked, even as I started to smile.

"Yes," he said awkwardly "Um, I have cards in my room if you would excuse me to get them…?"

"Yes, of course."

When he left I began to giggle like a school girl for absolutely no reason in particular. When my nervous laughter died down I turned to glance in my mirror. 'Yikes! My hair is a mess!' I pulled my brush out and combed through the tangled locks. Doing my best to straighten out my clothing, I frowned at my reflection. Then I sat down and sighed. There wasn't anything else I could do. I looked presentable at best, but I'd have to live with it. Just as the thought crossed my mind, my eye caught on the unused makeup products that Sakura had given me in a Christmas basket.'Perhaps a little lip-gloss…' I smiled at the thought until my more reasonable side protested,'No. I couldn't…" I wavered 'Well I could. Berry sweet lips: plump and pink.' I grabbed and gloss and tentatively opened it.

"Weird." I whispered aloud while staring at the brush in fascination. I applied a thin layer and rubbed my lips together the way I had seen other girls do after they put it on. 'Wow, it DOES taste good. Mmm, I little bit like sugar-covered strawberries…I bet I would taste good if anyone kissed me. I wonder if Neji…OH MY GOD! Hinata, do not have such impure thoughts! Neji-nii-san doesn't think of me in that way…' I put the lip-gloss aside just in time to hear a knock on the door.

"Come in," my voice quavered with excitement. I turned to look at the door, but was in for a nasty surprise.

My little sister stood in the doorway.

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That's it folks! I know it's short...but it seemed right to end it there. I will definitely get the third chapter out more quickly (I'm a bit excited to write it myself). Special thanks to all of my wonderful anonymous reviews who I didnt get to reply to. And all of you who reviewed kindly and with nice tidbits. Well then...I'll let you get on with your lives. Soon you will forget I ever existed...you'll go back to watching Pokemon on TV (people do still do that . like me) and painting your nails sparkly colors...I'm done.

Much love,

Alerting Alliteration


	3. Chapter 3: Glorious Hands

Finally! I'm updating at last. It may seem strange that I'm updating at all after over a year, but the holiday season is the perfect inspiration for this story. Sitting in my uncle's house on Christmas, I felt so much like Hinata. Poor girl...you aren't the only one with a dysfunctional family. I hope that this isn't disjointed from the last chapter. I can honestly say that I spent the better half of the afternoon hunched over my keyboard, chuckling and muttering to myself like a mad woman, while I wrote this little piece of fluffy goodness. With luck you'll find it humorous rather than incredibly creepy...

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"Is that lip-gloss?" Hanabi cocked her head at me as a mischievous smile played on her lips. The back of my hand was wiping the sugary sweetness off my lips faster than you could say "chicken!" Figures, the one time I decide to do something impulsive, my little sister is there to laugh at me.

"No." Hanabi couldn't look more dubious if she tried. The immediacy of my response, and the trembling of my voice were not lost on her.

"Uh huh" Now she really _was_ laughing. Not for the first time, I felt like the younger of the two of us. "Just wanted to see if you were alright. You really did look bad at dinner, and you and Neji never really have…well…" She looked uncertain, I decided to help her out.

"He's always really hated my guts." I managed to squeak out.

Hanabi was silent for a moment, surprised at my forwardness, "Yes, exactly. I—"

"HANABI, MY PRINCESS! WHERE IS MY PRETTY PRETTY PRINCESS?" My father's wail cut her short. Hanabi flushed a little, but turned to roll her eyes at me. I smiled hesitantly back.

"Better get going then…you know Dad." She chuckled embarrassedly.

"Yeah, b-but sometimes I wish I didn't." I cringed at the alarming crashes coming from downstairs, as my father continued to search for his "princess". I could just imagine the shocked face of Aunt Mildred as our stoic father cried for his baby daughter. Not good.

"I'LL SAVE YOU FROM THE EVIL BEAST, PRINCESS!"

"No, Hiashi not the china!"

As if contemplating how to best handle the situation, Hanabi stood there for a second indecisively before darting quickly down the stairs to sedate our father.

"Later!" She shouted as she descended to the first floor.

"Later." I whispered under my breath, knowing that she didn't expect a reply. I had just sunk back onto my bed when I was startled once again.

"I'm back, with the cards." Neji had entered and was now standing directly in front of me, with a stiffness that succeeded in ridding me of a few misgivings.

"Oh…great." Unfortunately, his stiffness couldn't cure my stumbling tongue. "Well then…um, we should, you know, play…"

"Yes." He said quickly. Neither of us moved. I was more aware than ever of the chocolate brown locks that fell to Neji's shoulders, leading my eye to his perfectly sculpted chest, where my gaze couldn't help but linger. 'I wonder what it would feel like to caress that chest with my fingers?' As soon as the thought surfaced in my mind I turned a deep cherry red. 'Hinata! You naughty girl. Don't go defiling your innocent cousin with your dirty thoughts!' I chided myself in an attempt to keep myself together, vigorously pushing out a second voice that uttered temptingly, 'How do you know he's not thinking the same thing?'

Seeming to realize suddenly that we could not play cards with him standing and me sitting, Neji plopped to the floor cross-legged. He looked so serene that I half suspected an "ohm" to escape his lips as I slid to a spot across from him.

Silence enveloped us once again. I bravely ventured forward.

"Um," was my genius attempt at conversation.

"We should play a game." Neji said hurriedly, tapping his beautifully calloused fingers on the cards in his lap.

"Crazy Eights!" In my nervousness, the words exploded from my mouth.

"Excuse me?" Neji looked perplexed. I felt like a complete idiot.

"I-It's a card game."

"Oh. I've never heard of it…"

"Well, um…we each get five cards, and you put the deck down and flip over the first card." Barely trusting myself, I reached out my hand for the deck. Neji handed it to me seriously, and I did my best to receive the cards without brushing his fingers. Just as I thought I had succeeded, half the deck slipped from my grasp onto the floor.

I watched, mesmerized, as Neji swept the cards up with one deliciously graceful movement and held my hand steady as he laid the rest of the deck softly in my palm. The sweetness of his touch sent shivers up and down my spine. I had to hold my breath to keep a gasp of surprise from escaping my lips.

The gesture seemed so intimate. I was aware of every callous, every crease and bend of muscle, every tendon in the gentle fingers that embraced my own. His eyes locked with mine, and as he opened his mouth to speak I was sure he was going to say something breathtaking, something that might change our relationship forever…

"The back of your hand is sticky."

Oh crap, oh crap crap crap. Of all the rotten luck! I will never wear lip-gloss in my life again!

"O-oh, it is…? How… strange. Must have…gotten something on it w-while I was eating. Yes, while I was eating…soup, maybe."

He looked at me strangely. I suddenly realized that we had not had soup that night. Instead of trying to explain myself (which I'm sure would've ended up in me making even more of a mess of things), I smiled crookedly at him and dealt five cards to us each. I set down the deck between us deliberately and turned over the first card.

"A-alright um…you can put down a matching card, or one of the same suit. W-we take turns…um the first one to lose all their cards wins the game." That's it, I'm sure I covered everything.

"Interesting. Why is the game called Crazy Eights?" His question, of course, pointed out the exact thing I had forgotten to explain.

I rushed to cover for my error, "That's because eights can change the suit to whatever you like. Say, the current suit is diamonds, and you only have hearts. Put down your eight, and say 'hearts' and I have to put down a heart or change the suit again with an eight."

"I see." Neji's expression remained as smooth as glass. "I think I now understand."

"G-good then, would y—"

"Hinata-sama," Neji's bent his head to the floor as he bowed to me with the utmost respect, "Would you do me the honor of accepting my challenge in this game of cards?"

Jesus Christ, Neji does have a way of making things more difficult.

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Alright...so...was my humor a bit off? I think so too...although I almost peed myself with the sticky hand stuff. (I am such a weirdo.) All in all, it was great fun to write, and I want to write more! I will write more. This is far from over. I'll be damned if Hinata doesn't get to touch Neji's muscular chest at least once...I swear, I'm not a pervert! Anyways, thank you to everyone who has reviewed, your encouragement and advice were instrumental in the making of this chapter! Please continue to tell me your thoughts. (Last time I even got a few flames from anonymous reviewers, woohoo!) I'll be waiting for your feedback as I lurk in my evil lair, muahaha!

Lovingly (aka creepily) yours,

Alerting Alliteration


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